ArchivedLogs:Learned Behavior

Learned Behavior
Dramatis Personae Ducky, Jackson, Kris, Horus
In Absentia	2013-06-01 '
Location <XS> Forest
Quiet and shady, the trees rise all around here high and thick. In stillness, woodland creatures make appearances, though sudden noises scare them back into the cover. Dappled sunlight filters down between the thick foliage, and the ground underfoot is heavily overgrown, though here and there paths have been worn, by deer or years of students wandering familiar trails. It is the day after the big dance, and the grounds of Xavier's School is decidedly quiet, potentially even for a warm Saturday afternoon. Temps are climbing into the low 90s, but the humidity is blissfully low, and the breeze rustling through the trees on campus keeps it quite comfortable. A clearing just a short walk through the thick trees is dappled in sunlight, and there is a decided concentration of birdsong circling the area, with sparrows and doves fluttering in and out through the trees - it looks like something out of a Disney movie, or an odd spoof of one. Ducky sits against the trunk of a broad tree at the edge of the clearing, a large black raven sitting in the branches above her head, with a dappled gray and white pigeon sitting on her shoulder. She wears a pair of rather battered looking high tops, lightweight khaki cargo pants, and a hooded t-shirt in a heathered blue. Her attention is focused entirely on a large text book in her lap, large photographs of birds and pages of description on alternating pages. Having avoided the dance the night before, she's apparently decided to take advantage of the relatively quiet day, in order to read and enjoy the day. There are quiet steps through the forest, slow, kind of drifting. Jackson is dressed plainly, dark cargo shorts and a Xavier's t-shirt, bare feet quiet against the earth as he slips through the trees. "Oh -- oh! Ducky." This makes his expression light, bright and cheerful. "Hi! I didn't expect to find -- hi." His head tips back, watching the birds flit in and out of the trees. "How're you settling in?" For once, Kris is carrying her weapon around NOT in corporeal form. Right now it exists as a rough ball of blue-ish ball of energy hovering over her palm, sometimes wrapping around or snaking tendrils around her hand. She's in her Xavier's gym uniform, which has a decidedly frumpy appearance on her. And she's sort of... bored looking. So when she sees Jackson AND Ducky, she's instantly blushing. "Oh, I'm sorry... am I interrupting some, uh..." She looks at the bird book,"... super secret bird training?" Ducky looks surprised when Jax pads into the clearing, blinking in the sunlight, her eyes finally adjusting to looking at something further away than her book. "Oh, hello Mister Jackson," Ducky says cheerily, adjusting herself so she isn't slouching against the tree as badly, tucking a bookmark into her book and closing the tome - revealing it to be the Complete Audobon's Birds of America. "I'm, um, doing well, I suppose. It's kinda a bit odd getting used to talking to people so much now, and, um, I apparently have a room mate now, though I keep missing her. But," Ducky says with a smile up at Jackson, "I appreciate being here. I'm really looking forward to starting classes in the summer." She blinks at Kris when the other girl enters the clearing as well, offering a wave and a grin, "Hi! Ah, no, not training or anything. It's um, they kinda start coming towards me when I sit anywhere for too long." The raven which was sitting over Ducky's head chirrups when he sees Kris, and hops over to a lower branches to look down at the girl, ruffling its feathers and chirruping again, as though saying hi. "Naw, I don't -- ain't no training," Jackson says lightly to Kris, "I think /I/ was interruptin' quiet-time, I was actually just out here looking for someone." He shrugs, rolling back onto his heels; with sunglasses on it is hard to follow the path of his gaze but for a moment his head turns towards the light hovering over Kris's palm. "Woah, is that --" His head shakes, abruptly. He looks over at the raven, instead. "Huh. Do they got names?" Kris looks both surprise, and pleased! She fishes in her pocket when Ducky greets her until she finds a small bag of jellybeans, and holds it out with her free hand,"Ducky! It's good to see you. Always happy to do so. And Zophi! Good to see you too. Here, you go. You can share jellybeans with me." She rubs at her nose a little bit, and then shoots Jax an embarassed expression,"I never did get to apologize for flipping out on those ants. I kind... was sort of back in the jungle for a few minutes." In all the fluttering of wings overhead one more pair should not be so noticeable. Except the new pair that is flapping down is Very Large, belonging to a bird considerably bigger than any that should be found in New York. Or -- sort of a bird, huge wings, huge beak, a covering of feathers in blue-grey and black and white, large taloned feet; there's something distinctly human in the proportions of Horus's torso, though, and the bright intelligence in his eyes. Also? Today he is wearing slacks. Dark grey. There is a tie loosely draped around his neck, no longer really tied. SWOOP. He has been flying /through/ the trees but he reroutes when he sees people down below -- or at least when he sees /one/ person down below, honing in on Jax and dropping to the ground behind him. Peering out uncertainly at Kris, though Ducky gets a quiet squawk of greeting. "{-- Woah. You. Hi.}" His mouth and throat are not well-equipped for human speech and it is perhaps this fact that brightens him further at noticing Ducky. "{Hive said you came here.}" "It's ok - I figured my hiding spot wouldn't last for long," Ducky says, smiling and climbing to her feet as she does, brushing herself off and grinning at Zophi and Kris's interaction. "Some of them tell me their names. I don't normally name them, but the ones who stay around me eventually give me something to call them." She nods to the raven, who is currently trying to peer around at the jelly beans in Kris's hand, ruffling his feathers happily, "That one is Zophi. He's, uh, the first one around here who gave me a name. Ravens are really good at recognizing people's faces, and Zophi recognizes Kris from the cookout the other day." She tilts her head at the mention of the ants, wondering what had set off a conversation about tiny bugs. The rustle of extremely large wings makes Ducky look up curiously, tilting her head to the side as she looks around. The arrival of Horus gets a broad smile, and when the bird-man lands, she looks curiously at his formal attire, "Horus! Yes. Mister Jackson helped me enroll here, and, um, I tried to come and tell you, but, well, we kinda got distracted," she grins, nodding, "I actually have a room, and don't have to stay in the shelters, so it's nice." "Oh -- oh, that's -- that was a really screwed-up situation, s'kinda understandable to get freaked," Jackson assures Kris with a shake of his head. "-- Who's your advisor, though? Might could talk with them about running some training with you to get you used to -- well. Being startled without being /there/." His expression lights at Horus's arrival, and he drops a hand to extend one fist for -- a knuckletap? Probably not for that given that Horus's talons aren't well equipped to make /fists/. But. He extends it anyway. "Hey! I was looking for you. Wanted to check in before I went back to the city. See if you want a ride back. -- Zophi." He echoes this curiously. "Mmm. Kinda ends up lookin' like a fairytale out here. Tucked in the woods with all the birds flitting around." Kris makes smooching motions and sounds at Zophi as he tries to get a better view of the jelly beans. "You can sit on my shoulder or I can make you a stick if you need to so you can eat. I like to think... me and Zophi could be buddies." Then there's a sort of... uh... bird person. She does stare for, like, half a minute, then looks over at Jackson,"Friend of yours? Is he... or she going to be staying with us, then? A pleasure to meet you... Sir... or... Ma'am?" "My advsior? Professor Summers. I'm also going to therapy, but it's... work that takes a lot of time." The blue light around her hand finally coalesces into a long bamboo pole, which she slings over her shoulder in a lazy sort of way. "Ducky, who did you say your friend waS? Horus?" Horus stretches his head up, meeting the offered fist with a tap of his beak against it. Tap first, and the next time he makes contact he stays, nuzzling his head up against Jax's knuckles. His head bobs in a nod to Jax, but then his eyes shift over towards Kris. He creeps juuust a little bit more behind Jackson's legs, tucking his wings in against his side, and shakes his head. "{Not staying. Not here. -- Do you like it here?}" He's looking back to Ducky, now, then tipping his head up to look at the sky. "{I have friends. Here. They say it's nice.}" His head leans up a little bit more against Jax. "{... possibly it /is/ kind of like a fairytale.}" The shiny black raven hops onto the bamboo cane that Kris materializes, chirruping a little and taking a Jelly bean, if it is offered. Ducky grins a bit at the mention of it looking like a fairytale, "Heh. Other people have said that, but, yeah, they just all kinda congregate around me after a bit - instead of, y'know, doing dishes or chores. Makes me easy to find, I guess." She sticks her tongue out and shrugs a bit, "But I like the company, anyway." She tilts her head slightly at the greeting between Jax and Horus, but then nods to Kris, "Um, yeah, I met Horus when I was living in New York, um, before I cam here, and, well, Mister Jackson knows him better than I do, but, Horus, this is my friend Kris." She smiles, gesturing to the other girl, who the Raven is currently harassing for more Jelly Beans, attempting to act all sorts of cute and innocent while doing it. She smiles to Horus, and nods, "I like it here. It's safe, and nice, and the people are kind, and I can go back to school and everything, and I'll actually get my diploma, in theory. And maybe go to college." The girl stops babbling for a moment, and ruffles her short hair, "Sorry, I, uh, babbly sometimes. Sorry." "Takes time," Jackson agrees, head turning again to watch the light coalesce. "He was my advisor, too," he informs Kris, with a small smile. "I'll talk to him." He looks up afterwards, watching the birds overhead. "Nah. Gettin' rambly's alright, I don't hardly shut up when I get bouncy. S'good to hear you like it. Can be kinda an adjustment, settling in a new place." He looks back down, at Horus skulking behind his legs. "Hey. S'alright. Kris is -- a friend, she ain't gonna -- I mean, around here it's safe." Kris starts to hold her hand out to shake... then sees the 'fist bumping' of Jacksons. So she offers a few more jellybeans to Zophi obligingly, then holds out her own fist to Hrous. "Any friend of Ducky's is a friend of mine. Ain't that right, Zophi?" She smiles at Ducky,"You'll go to college. Ornithologist, maybe?" She's been studying her vocabulary! "Mister Jackson, if he feels more comfortable, I can do this in the gym. I wouldn't want Horus to feel unwelcome or a spectacle." Horus is tentative about leaving the safety of Jax's legs. He sneaks one awkward sidestep away, and then another. The dart of his head forward is a quick thing; it's almost like he's /pecking/ Kris's hand but instead he just taps the side of his beak up against her knuckles. "{College. Study what? -- Oh. Your friend doesn't have to leave,}" he adds to Ducky, "{Sorry. It's hard to remember that it's okay here. Or, well, /more/ okay.}" Ducky nods to Jax, smiling a bit, "I do like it here. It's kinda an adjustment, for sure, getting back to, well, school, and relaxing." She bobs her head and grins to Kris, and Horus, "I know I want to go into something involving conservation, and birds, and, well, that means sort of ornithology, Environmental Studies, or zoology, but I'd rather study birds in the wild than ones that are in captivity, 'cause, um, there's a difference, especially with most of the more exotic species. They don't talk the same, and they seem sort of," she pauses, as though trying to think of the right word, "Sad? It's um, yeah. I'd rather go out in the wild and stuff. Anyway." She looks to Horus, and nods, before realizing that she was the only one who could hear him, and blushing, before relaying his statement, "Oh, right. Um, Horus says you don't have to leave, Kris." "Be kinda sad, too," Jackson says with a small twitch of smile, "if I was living in a cage. Even if it was a big one. -- I've got some stuff to get together before I head out," he tells Horus, then, "but if you swing by the building in an hour or so we can head back to the city?" He offers the girls a warm smile. "Sorry," he says lightly, "Gotta run -- have a good weekend." Because unlike many of the teachers he probably won't be around for much of it. He lifts his hand, tipping a large white Stetson that materializes on his head before vanishing again, and heads off through the trees back towards the mansion. Kris smiles at Horus,"That's very similar to the traditional pinoy greeting for elders, you know. We bot and place their hands upon our foreheads." She waves to JAckson at this point,"Stay safe, Mister Jackson. And thanks again!" She swivels to look at Ducky, then,"You know... sometimes you act a little like a bird... like when you bob your head like that. Some sort of learned behavior?" Horus bows his head again, kind of experimentally, at Kris's words. "{Pinoy. Your friend is far from home.}" He fidgets restlessly as Jackson heads off, and his wings spread, but he folds them again without actually taking off. "{Are you good at science?}" he asks Ducky, "{I mean, do you want to go more into the biology of it or more of the policy of it?}" His head tips just slightly to one side, eyes flicking between Kris and Ducky. "{Most behavior is learned behavior, I think.}" As Jackson heads back towards the school building, Ducky offers a bit of a wave, before turning her attention back towards Horus and Kris. She tilts her head slightly, "I, uh, don't know where Pinoy is, actually," she says, although it isn't exactly clear if she is addressing Horus or Kris. When Horus spreads his wings, Ducky blinks for a moment, looking at him curiously, "Um, I'm decent at Sciences. I was never a straight A student or anything, but I was good in most subjects, at least to a point. I don't mind the biology aspect of it, but, um, it's a bit more in depth than I really want to do. I talk to birds, they're my friends, the idea of studying them like that," she shudders, and hugs herself for a moment, "It kinda squicks me out and makes me sick. I think, um, more of what I want to go into is the, um, advocacy? I suppose the policy, but with a look at how people are changing the world, not necessarily for the better, and how it effects the natural world." She ruffles her hand through her hair, "Yeah. I guess it is. I mean, I didn't always do the head bob thing. I kinda picked it up from talking to pigeons for a year." A thought seems to smack her in the head, judging from the look of embarassment on her face, "Oh. I, uh, this probably sounds like a somewhat lopsided conversation. Do, um, do you want me to translate? For you, Horus, I mean? When you talk. I know I can hear you, but, uh, I can repeat the statements if you want. I know, um, the other guy you were with usually does, but, um," she shuts up for a moment, for once. Kris purses her lips in thought,"Your friend is quiet... does he have trouble speaking? I have it sometimes when I'm very tired and trying to speak English." She addresses Horus more directly,"I don't imagine your mouth makes human speech methods too easy." So as not to talk over the man. She offers Zophi another handful of jellybeans in an off-handed method,"Pinoy, pinay... These are what my people refer to themselves as. I am from the Philippines. I am, in my own parlance, a pinay." She gives a toothy smile,"I don't enjoy dissecting humans... so why should you like having to dissect birds to get to know them?" She /doesn't enjoy dissecting humans/? Sound ominous? "Well, anyway, it's cute, so keep it up. Unique is better than normal. The boys around here like it, I think." "{The Philippines}," Horus is saying even as Kris is explaining it. "{That sounds like good work. At least I know lots of birds who would appreciate whatever extra help they can get. With, you know, not -- going extinct.}" He shifts again, taloned feet curling deeper into the earth and then pulling back out. "{I would appreciate,}" he agrees. "{Translating. If it's not a problem.}" Although after this he just shifts again, feathers starting to ruffle outwards. "{Lots of people do enjoy dissecting humans.}" He watches Kris for a moment, and his wings spread again. "{I think, um, maybe. I should. Maybe go back.}" Ducky nods, first to Kris, at the explanation of her home, and then to Horus for the shorter version. The comment about 'dissecting humans' gets a raised eyebrow, and Ducky takes a shuffled step back from Kris, a bit closer to Horus than she was before. Even Zophi the raven looks at Kris askance at the girl, pausing in his eternal quest for jelly beans. She then, nods again to Horus, "Sorry about not translating for you. I, um, I'm not always used to having a three way conversation with people." Ducky closes her eyes for a moment, and as Horus speaks, translates his words for him exactly, essentially just vocalizing what she hears mentally - thankfully, he actually makes sense, as opposed to her normal bird conversation which comes out as babbled, garbled English. She is however still processing as she talks, and her eyes snap open and she looks at Horus, wide eyed, "No, you don't have to go, it's, um." Ducky looks between Horus and Kris, concern written on her plain features. Kris shows a toothy smile and offers her bag of jellybeans to Ducky at this point, and explains to Horus, as if she could totally understand him (she can't),"I was... 'conscripted' by the Moro until half a year ago. Sometimes I say odd things as a result. My apologies." She makes smooching motions at Zophi,"He's just got such pretty feathers! You ever want some jellybeans, and I've got my window open, you're welcome to visit me, Zophi. Same goes for you, Ducky, and Horus." Looking between the two, she offers,"I don't suggest dissecting people as a hobby." She gets a sort of distant look on her face, and warns Zophi,"I'm about to get moving. Be careful so I don't jostle you. I'll go ahead and leave you two to talk. Horus? Stay." She turns and begins to walk, whistling,"It was good to see you all." "{Oh -- oh. That -- sounds like no fun,}" Horus decides, his feathers settling back down. "{I have lots of friends who were in bad situations and --}" But this just trails off. He tips his head to the side to preen some of his feathers back into place. "{Was nice to meet you,}" is a little bit more reserved, but he only tucks his wings in properly once more once Kris is setting off. He sidles a little closer to Ducky. "{Cornell has really excellent ecology programs,}" he offers, a little more relaxed. "{And it's still in New York. Though. Farther -- up.}" After translating Horus's statements directed to Kris, Ducky bites her lip as Kris offers a goodbye, shaking her head, "Be careful with the raven. He's tame around me, but he is still wild. Just, uh, know that." Then, as though to contradict what she'd just said, Ducky reaches out momentarily to scratch Zophi on the ruff of feathers behind his head, in a sign of affection. "Zophi, please don't eat too many sweets. I really don't want to have to treck back here to get you home, again." She watches as the raven rides on Kris's bamboo pole. Ducky turns her attention back to Horus, mild concern on her face, simply watching him for a moment as he preens his feathers back into place, waiting for him to settle in again. "I haven't really started looking at that much at colleges, since, well, I have to get through my high school stuff first, and I don't start classes quite yet. But, um, I've heard really good things about Cornell. It's just kinda expensive. And even further removed from everything than here is. But I think I'd like to stay somewhere around New York. I like it." "{Probably have scholarships available. And it's pretty out there. Lots of birds.}" Horus's beak is not made for smiling; still, there are signs all the same when he is cheerful. A quick back-forth twitch of his tail, a soft almost purring sound as his head settles down further against the fluffing-out feathers on his chest. "{Though you've got a while to decide.}" He sidles a bit closer, craning his head upwards to reach out his beak lightly for Ducky's hand. "{Sorry I made your friend leave,}" he offers. "{I still have a bit, I think, before Jax is heading home.}" Which, now that they're alone once more -- save for all the birds around them -- he seems perfectly content to spend here, enjoying conversation for one of the rare moments in life when he actually /can/.